The Action Research Project
I feel that I almost have to apologize for this project. It is old. Very old. It exists before my career. Before I knew that I wanted to go to school for design, even. And before our modern understanding of autism and neurodivergency. But at its core, it has become a driving force and a core pillar of what I believe design is and can achieve.
My old high school requires that all Senior students complete what they call the Action Research Project. We are tasked with finding a problem within our community and creating a project that can actionably address our concerns. You can work alone or in small groups. You can change something citywide or as small as a local park.
I chose to work alone. And I chose to focus my project on improving the lives of my school’s special needs students. My older sister is special needs, so I had a personal motivation to make something that would have a lasting impact for her.
My school was like many schools, in that it had a bullying problem and I desired to find a way to bridge the gap between the general student population and the special needs students.
It took weeks of interviewing people, students, councilors, school staff, but after a few failed attempts I finally understood that the way to bridge the gap was to find a way for these kids to break down the barriers and see each other as people. People worthy of respect and friendship.
I realized that I had an opportunity where students with a study hall that coincided with lunch could excuse themselves from the class to come sit with the special needs students for the period. Make new friends. Introduce them to their friends. Break down walls.
I brought the idea to the administration staff and was able to create a program to be implemented the next year. From what I was later told, it was very successful, and was later implemented district wide.
Sometimes EGD, or even just design in general, isn't making a new sign, or a new installation, or a new space for people to gather, it's looking at the existing systems that are keeping people apart and making little, targeted adjustments to bring people together.
Today, I we are constantly inundated with news stories and think pieces and articles about how we are being driven apart by society and social media and the digital age. And now more than ever I am reminded of this first project and how everything in my life since then has been about bringing people together and breaking down walls. And it all started here.